Five (inventive) ways to invest in homes

A fairly unremarkable two-bedroom flat near Tower Bridge in London, costing just over £500,000, sold 35 minutes after being launched to market last Friday. Another in Byfleet, Surrey, costing £213,000, also sold within half an hour.

The sales came via Property Partner, the latest property crowdfunding website. Crowdfunding, in which multiple people buy shares within a property, is one of a number of ways in which people can capitalise — whether financially or in other ways — from homeownership without the hassle of owning a home.

Property Partner’s success with the Tower Bridge apartment illustrates how much pent-up demand there is for property investment — £242.60 a second was raised to buy the apartment.